http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/747326.html Batteries for electric buses become an “explosive” issue for S. Korea and China Jun.8,2016 Kim Kyung-rok
[image http://img.hani.co.kr/imgdb/resize/2016/0609/146537388244_20160609.JPG A bus with an electric battery that exploded in Hong Kong, Dec. 2015 ] S. Korea calls China’s move a veiled trade barrier, since the explosions didn’t involve South Korean batteries During a meeting with China’s Finance Minister, South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoo Il-ho reportedly asked the Chinese government to reconsider regulations that makes batteries only made by South Korean companies ineligible to receive subsidies for electric buses. The regulations are a sore spot for South Korean electric car battery manufacturers such as LG Chem and Samsung SDI. But the Chinese have yet to respond to the request, officials say. “During a meeting with the Chinese Finance Minister on May 27, Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho asked the Chinese to reconsider its restrictions on subsidies for ternary batteries. Chairman Xu Shaoshi seemed surprised to learn of the regulations and indicated that he would take steps to address the problem, but so far we have not heard anything else,” an official from South Korea‘s Ministry of Strategy and Finance told the Hankyoreh on June 7. Xu Shaoshi is the head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Ternary batteries are produced using technology adopted by South Korean manufacturers of electric car batteries. Some advantages of ternary batteries are that they weigh less and have a higher energy concentration than the LFP batteries that are typically used by Chinese firms. Ternary batteries became an issue following a series of explosions last year in electric buses in Hong Kong and China that were equipped with such batteries. “The electric vehicle batteries that caused an explosion were not manufactured by South Korean companies, but the Chinese government decided to stop paying subsidies for all ternary batteries until their safety could be verified,” said Chae Hee-geun, an analyst for Hyundai Securities. Samsung and other South Korean companies are convinced that the Chinese government’s ban constitutes a non-tariff barrier to trade that is less motivated by safety concerns than by the desire to protect Chinese battery manufacturers. This conviction is shared by Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Il-ho, which is why he made the request himself during the meeting. “The ternary battery issue came up before the meeting of finance ministers while we were hearing companies’ opinions about what they perceive to be Chinese non-tariff barriers to trade. We mentioned this issue during the meeting because it has validity and also because Samsung considers it to be so serious that Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong became personally involved,” said the Ministry of Strategy and Finance official. “The Chinese government was supposed to wrap up its review of the battery‘s safety by the end of June, but the review appears to be taking longer (than planned),” Chae said. [© The Hankyoreh] For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Ternary-Li-ion-battery-explosions-in-Hong-Kong-cn-Electric-buses-tp4682561.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
